Forbes Flatlands Hang Gliding Championships 2017 Welcome Welcome to the Forbes Flatlands Hang Gliding Championships 2017. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable competition. This document will provide you with all the information you will need during the competition. If you need any further assistance, please contact one of the officials. Competition Details Name: Forbes Flatlands Hang Gliding Championships 2017 Practice Flying: Wednesday the 28 th and Thursday the 29 th of December Competition Dates: 8 Days 1 st Day Friday December 30 th Last day Friday January 6 th Registration: Wednesday 28 th & Thursday the 29 th from 10:00-12:00 & 1600-1800 at HQ. Sanctions: FAI Cat 2 and HGFA, AAA for Open Class and HGFA AA for Sport Class Officials Competition Organiser/Safety Director/Launch Leader Vicki Cain 0410 331 883 Competition Director/Scorer Wesley Hill 0408 305 943 Launch Director/Goal Marshal Rob Van Der Klooster 0407 158 548 Adminstration/Launch Leader/Retrieve Hotline Thea O Connor 0416 225 805 Weatherman Gerolf Heinrichs Emergency Phone Numbers DIAL 000 Forbes Ambulance Station 02 6852 1788 Forbes Police 02 6853 9999 Forbes Fire Brigade 02 6851 1843 Forbes District Hospital 02 6850 2000 Ambulance NSW 131 233 Search & Rescue AMSA 1 800 815 257 Location Page 1
Headquarters: Forbes Rugby Club, Platypi Park, Gordon Duff Drive, Forbes NSW 2871 Launch: Bill s Paddock Moyes International Airport (MIA) At the end of Dr. Young Drive right off the North Condobolin Road, before the Forbes Airport MIA GPS coordinates: S 33 21 21.13 E 147 56 00.82 (degrees minutes seconds) MIA Altitude: 232 M Page 2
Program Registration: Wednesday 28 th & Thursday 29th December Headquarters (Platypi Park, Gordon Duff Drive, Forbes NSW 2871) 10 am - 12pm Registration 4pm - 6pm Registration Welcome Briefing & Dinner: Thursday 29th December 8.30 pm Headquarters (Platypi Park, Gordon Duff Drive, Forbes NSW 2871) Practice Flying: Wednesday 28 th & Thursday 29th December Bill s Paddock (MIA) Launch for practice flying 1-3 pm At other times by appointment Towing available outside designated dates at $30 per tow. All Competitors and free flyers must register/sign in before flying. Friday 30 th December Friday 6 th January 9:30am Morning briefing - First competition day. 10:00am Morning briefing - Last competition day. Airport Rules 1. You must never cross the airport tarmac runway below 1500ft (460m) AGL / 240m (800ft) ASL. 2. Do not drive around the inside perimeter of the airport. If you want to go to the club house, use the outside perimeter road. Do not use the internal perimeter road. 3. No hang gliders are to be stored in the hanger at the airport. This includes packed up gliders. Scoring The scoring formula will be Gap2011 with parameters: Nominal distance 100km Minimum distance 10km Nominal time 90 minutes Nominal goal % 25% Use Distance Points yes Use Time Points yes Use Leading Points yes Use Arrival Position Points yes Jump the gun factor 2 Max "ʺjump the gun"ʺ 600 Stopped Task Bonus Glide Ratio 4 Page 3
Notes: Leading points and Arrival position points will be disabled on the first task. Leading points and Arrival position points will be disabled on the second task if the validity of the first task is less than 0.3. Page 4
Equipment Hang Glider (well maintained!) Harness (well maintained) GPS or GPS/vario Tow release and bridle Recently repacked parachute Helmet Current HGFA membership VHF Rating and equipment (All pilots will need the necessary VHF radio rating & equipment. This year we will not apply for an exemption to CAR 166 with CASA, as we have done previously.) Aerotow Rating Staging/launch line order Pilots will be seeded in the launch order randomly on the first day. On the following days, launch order will be based on their current overall competition result. Pilots will setup outside the two launch lines, and then move into their assigned position. Pilots will launch in setup/staging order. The top 1/3 rd of the total number of pilots will stage in reverse order with the last pilot in this first grouping in the number one position, etc., behind the open launch pilots. Page 5
The launch marshal shall use an air horn 30 mins prior to the specified launch open time to announce that all cars are to be removed from the airport and that all pilots should move onto the launch line in their assigned position. The launch marshal shall use an air horn to announce when the window opens or if there has been a change in the task so that all pilots can be made aware of any changes. It is each pilot s responsibility to be alert for any changes. The launch line marshal shall signal using an air horn 15 mins prior to launch open signalling that the first three pilots in the launch lines may move onto a dolly. Before any pilot can move onto a dolly the pilot needs to be ready. Ready is defined as: pilot is completely suited up with helmet on, hooked in with vario, GPS and other instruments turned on, and indicates that he is mentally ready to launch. All pilots must stay in the launch lines and not move forward or back or sideways, the dollies will be bought to the next pilot in lines unless ordered to by the launch marshals. Pilots who choose not to fly in their ordered launch position may move to the back of the line by carrying their glider and equipment around the launch lines away from the tug landing area. After the first day, there will be an open launch for 15 pilots outside the top third of the field. Pilots have to register their intention to launch during the open launch by 9am before the morning pilot briefing and will be chosen by lot for the number of available slots. Reflying Pilots in the open launch who require a re- fly must go to the end of either queue. Pilots who were in the ordered launch and require a re- fly will be directed by the launch steward in position behind the 5th pilot in line or after the last person in line (in harness ready to go), whichever is least. The position includes pilots already on dollies. Pilots must re- join their original launch queue. The refly zone (you must land in this zone to be entitled to a reflight) shall be the airfield property and the area within 1 km centered around the Forbes airfield turnpoint. Page 6
GPS Setup Map Datum Co- ordinate Format UTC Offset WGS84 ddd mm.mmm +11 hours Please remember to turn your track log on prior to the task. Please clear your track log prior to each new task (but only after confirming scores from the previous task) Daily Procedures 1. There will be a daily briefing at the HQ each morning of the competition at 10 am. 2. You should arrive at the airport at a time advised during the morning briefing. 3. When arriving at the airport, please drive along the perimeter fence until you get to the hangar, then you can drive your car to your setup area. All cars must be returned to the car park when the horn is sounded. Towing will not commence until all cars have been removed from the setup area. Amenities Toilets There are 2 porta- loos located at the launch area. There are also toilets located at the club house on the other side of the runway. Access is via the outside perimeter road. Litter There are bins located near the hangers and at the end of each launch line. Please make an effort to keep the area clean. Page 7
Competition Rules These are the local rules for the Forbes Flatlands Hang Gliding Championships 2016 and are to be used as supplements, clarifications and refinements to the HGFA Competition Manual (6.9) 1. ABS. This term shall be applied in scoring as follows: The scorekeeper gives an automatic ABS (Absent) to anyone who doesn'ʹt turn in a GPS tracklog. The scorekeeper will attempt to contact all those pilots who have ABS'ʹs. If the pilot states that they did not launch for safety reasons (whether it is the case or not) they are given bomb out points (as per the HGFA Competition Manual 6.7). If the pilot states that they launched but don'ʹt have a valid track log for the day, they get bomb out points. 2. Refly zone The refly zone shall be the airfield property and the area within 1 km centered around the Forbes airfield turnpoint. 3. Start Window The first start window shall open at least one hour after the launch windows opens. 4. Controlled Airspace For the duration of the competition, the altitude limit will be 14,000 AMSL in an area within 150 Nm of Forbes aerodrome, except that, no flights will be conducted in Class E Airspace. We will display maps which show the restricted cylindrical airspaces around CTAF airfields (except Parkes and Forbes as provided for in the pilot meeting). Pilots will be required to stay 18.52 kilometers away from the center of these airfields. Tasks will be designed to keep pilots as far away from these airfields as possible. Pilots are expected to familiarize themselves with all controlled airspace in the vicinity of course lines from the maps and information supplied. The responsibility is on the pilot at all times to prove that he/she has not infringed airspace or competition altitude limits. The track logs of at least the top 5 pilots for each task will be checked for airspace infringement. Other random checks will also be made. Pilots must be out of the Parkes airspace between the times provided to pilots at the pilot briefings. Page 8
5. Airspace monitoring. Altitude from the pilot'ʹs track log will be checked using GPS altitude and verified using the scoring software. It is the pilot s responsibility to understand whether their instruments record and/or display barometric or GPS altitude, or both. Note: Phone Apps (SeeYou and XC Soar) are available that will record GPS height and will be accepted. Carry a spare battery if you'ʹre using your phone as may need to make calls after you land. Penalties for verified infractions airspace (in points) shall be 4% of your total score (without infractions). For violations less than 2 minutes, no penalty will be applied. For violations over 2 minutes, a penalty will be applied. For violations over 5 minutes (starting after 2 minutes) a second incident shall start and so on for every 5 minutes. Page 9
These are our maps of the relevant airfields at three different distances: 1000 km Page 10
500 km 300 km Page 11
6. Altitude verification It is the pilot s responsibility to understand whether his instruments record and/or display pressure or GPS altitude, or both. The pilot must ensure his instrument is set correctly before flying. Instruments that incorporate a pressure sensor, such that the recorded altitude is normally a continuous updated combination of GPS height and pressure altitude (Garmin GPSes that have a pressure sensor) will be accepted this year as a backup. They usually record a value that is close to GPS height, and should be set with auto- calibrate on. Tracklogs will be checked to ensure these instruments are set correctly. 7. Cell phones Pilots shall provide the meet organizers with their cell phone number and the cell phone number of their driver(s). Drivers and/or pilots may be contacted by the meet director during tasks to stop the tasks and this may be done using broadcasted cell phone text messages. Competition Committees Task Committee Safety Committee Protest Committee Retrieve The retrieve phone numbers are; Retrieve Hotline We will man the retrieve phone until all pilots are accounted for. Please call or text retrieve hotline to confirm when all of your team have been retrieved. Page 12
Protests All protests shall be made in writing, accompanied by the protest fee of $50 in cash which will be held by the Organisers pending the outcome of the protest. Protests concerning the previous day s task must be lodged by midday. Unnecessary unsuccessful protests will mean loss of protest fee. Land Owner s Prize We will have a raffle for a land owner s prize during the closing ceremony. You have been given land owner bonus tickets for you to give to any land owner that helps you out during the competition. Please help support local relations. You and your land owner could win! Presentation and Closing Ceremony The presentation and closing ceremony will be held at the Forbes Rugby Club headquarters, on Saturday night 6th January 2017. The presentation includes a free dinner for all pilots and officials. Additional dinner tickets for drivers/support crew may be purchased for $25 per head. Page 13
Sponsors and Thank you Our sponsors for the competition are listed below. Please utilise these businesses/organisations wherever possible. Support the people who support us. Forbes Shire Council Tel: 02 6850 2318 New South Wales Hang Gliding Paragliding Association Forbes Aero Club Special thanks to all at the Aero Club for the very generous support and the very warm welcome you offer to us all Tel : 02 6852 3845 Moyes Delta Gliders Pty Ltd Email: moyes@moyes.com.au Website: www.moyes.com.au Wishing you a fun and safe competition Page 14